Blog #5

1.) Krissy Venosdale's post "If You Built a School"
  After reading several post by Mrs. Venosdale I learned that while she is a special education teacher who loves everything that is taught at Space Camp.  She is also a teacher who loves her children and would do anything to help them learn and grow. I loved her description of the school she would build if she had a "Willy Wonka" moment and if I was a parent I would do whatever it took to get my child in her school because of its main goals: for children to learn and grow as students and as a person. Too many times we have lost teacher who could have been great but turned to teaching what is needed for an exam only instead putting the passion to learn in their students. My favorite part of her school is a tie between the grade level system and the tree in the library. In her school if you could not read or write then you stayed with your teacher until you could because their education was more important than "getting" them to the next grade. There they would be ask "what don't you understand?" instead of "why don't you understand?". And the tree in the library brings back memories of bringing my books to my cousins' tree house, finding a corner and getting lose in a books' pages for hours. If I were a child again I would find as many books as I could and hind out in the tree until I could not keep my eyes open. By using what a child knows and sees if Mrs. Venosdale was to make this school it would be the greatest second home any student could ask to call their school.
  If I could build a school I would create a place where the students feel safe, where they are treated with respect and dignity, where being called "smart" was a compliment and where they can grow into the responsible, loving person they can be. I would make a gym large enough for the whole school to be in and each morning every student and teacher would run around, play and exercise before going to class. I would hold my teachers and students to a high standard and never make them feel that "okay" is good enough. Music would play in the halls and lunch room all day. I would make sure that everything that they could eat in the school I would eat myself; meaning no "bad" meals, drinks or snacks. Every May there would be a big trip for each grade as a reward for all of their hard work and it would be the students who choose where to go. I would have professors, engineers, doctors, DJ's, anyone who would come to meet with the students and talk about what they do every Friday. I would place awards like "Johnny Made His First B+" or "Mary Has Added a New Group Discussion Question For Her Class" on a board in the entrance of the school so that everyone can see that no matter how small the change they make in their lives that they are all winners. I never want a child to go home saying that they were board, that they did not learn anything today or worst that they did not care about school anymore. That is the one thing I never want to happen.

2.) My Reaction to: Jennifer Chamber's post "I think I have become a Blogger" and Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir
  Other than "WOW!" and "I can't believe that this could happen" what else can there be said about this unique choir? This man, Eric Whitacre, has used the internet to create not only this breathtakingly beautiful and moving piece of music but he has also shown that even those separated by oceans or mountains can still make wonders. In the past unless you knew each other and could practice together you would work hard to put on a show but only be able to show a very, very small amount of people your work. This video proves that such a time is no more. We have become so connected into technology that after such a feet as this has been accomplished we can no longer say that we are limited or that we need to think small. I hope that this has inspired others in the world that even if you only have a small piece when paired with others you will create something bigger than anything before.
  I have only seen something similar to this done with only one person, Nick Pitera, and have included two of his videos from YouTube. Enjoy.



3.) My Reactions to: Teaching in the 21st Century by Kevin Roberts
  I believe that Kevin Roberts thinks that to teach in the 21st century is to not see facts as the only aspect of learning but that now we must use every search engine and collection of statements, blogs or videos to engage students today. I agree when he stated that in the past you went to a teacher if you had a question but now with technology in every point of our lives a teacher must teach character, problem solving, how to use what you already know and what to do/where to go when you have a question. Fifty years ago a teacher used maps or news clippings to explain WWI&II but now a teacher can show videos of the war, testimonies of those who survived, plan field trips to visit museums dedicated to these wars and more because the world has become more connected and smaller than in any other time in history. He is saying that as teachers we can no longer spew facts at students and wonder why they do not understand the workings of the world. There is no more excuse to why a high school student going into college does not know how to use the internet for research, how to compare reliable facts and how to be professional. This information is out there but so many times the means of finding these answers are used to watch cartoons, make movies of their latest tricks or to find somewhere to eat. We are teachers who must show how computers, cellphones, blogs, podcast, etc. can be used to expand a students' understanding of the world by connecting them to the world.

4.) Flipped Classroom
  After watching the videos about flipping the classroom I was very surprised how such a changeling problem of teaching every students was solved with such a simple answer: give them the information first and then answer questions in the classroom. I liked how Ms. Munafo used her video Flipping the Classroom - 4th Grade STEM to explain the changes in the classrooms and the reason for these needed changes while using the same system of video learning that the students will be watching. It helped answer my own questions about the program and could be shown to her students as an example of what their class videos will be like. I do want to use this in my own classroom because I love math and reading which happen to be some of the hardest subjects to teach but with the help of FIZZ by Dr. Lodge McCammon I might be able to fix this issues before they start. In Dr. Lodge McCammon's video  Dr. Lodge McCammon's FIZZ - Flipped the Classroom he brings light to the problems of past teachers where they spent 90% of the class time lecturing, only 10% of the time allowing the students to apply the lesson and where in both parts of class they were never engaged. By flipping the classroom it changes how, when and where a child learns which allows them to ask others questions, to look for these answers on their own or to see how the lesson is used in every day life. In Katie Gimbar's viedos Why I Flipped My Classroom and Flipped Classroom - FAQ she give first hand testimony that by making these changes those who were struggling were helped, those who were not challenged had the means to move ahead and those in middle were helped to push themselves forward. On my first day as a teacher I will not ask about my parking spot or my desk but instead I will begin to create my own "Flipped Classroom" and hit the ground running.